At a town hall meeting on Thursday, Mayor Mike Gaskill and Police
Chief Todd Stovall endorsed a plan to send cops dressed in full-fledged
SWAT gear and equipped with AR-15s into downtown Paragould starting in
2013.

The militarized police force will be tasked with trying to control a
crime rate that has made Paragould an increasingly dangerous place to
live in recent years. According to statistics collected by
city-data.com, Paragould has had a property crime index rating more than
double the national average since 2007. Rapes, burglaries, thefts and
assaults per capita are also well above the mean there, statistically
suggesting Paragould is perhaps the least-safe among area cities.

"This fear is what's given us the reason to do this. Once I have stats and people saying they're scared, we can do this," Stovall said, according to the Paragould Daily Press. "It allows us to do what we're fixing to do."

"To ask you for your ID, I have to have a reason," he said. "Well,
I've got statistical reasons that say I've got a lot of crime right
now, which gives me probable cause to ask what you're doing out. Then
when I add that people are scared…then that gives us even more [reason]
to ask why are you here and what are you doing in this area."

"They may not be doing anything but walking their dog," added Mayor Gaskill, "but they're going to have to prove it."

That's right, folks. In America the police state won't just be limited to occupiers and Santa Clauses anymore. Innocent until proven guilty? That's long gone now. In this 'new world order' we're being lead into, pre-crime is just as valid as actual crime. However, for the scared masses this will of course be perfectly acceptable - so long as it's not you, right?

Click here to recommend this post on progressivebloggers.ca and help other people find this information.

Richard Fantin is a self-taught software developer who has mostly throughout his career focused on financial applications and high frequency trading. He currently works for eQube gaming systems.

Nazayh Zanidean is a Project Coordinator for a mid-sized construction contractor in Calgary, Alberta. He enjoys writing as a hobby on topics that include foreign policy, international human rights, security and systemic media bias.